Friday Bolts – Father’s Day Weekend Edition

First off, I want to wish a very happy Father’s Day to my pop and also to my most excellent father-in-law. (Again, I actually have really great in-laws. I know, I’m very lucky.) I guess while technically we’re honoring you for being a dad, it’s also kind of a celebration of me because without me, you wouldn’t be a father. (Well, without me or my two brothers. Whatever.) So I guess happy Father’s Day to me, and also you.

Sean Deveney sticking to form and going off the path with his mock draft: “Oklahoma City. Stephen Curry, G, Davidson. The consensus seems to be that the Thunder will take SG James Harden. But the Thunder almost never do what the consensus indicates. Curry would give OKC a sweet-shooting combo guard to pair with PG Russell Westbrook. They could try for Thabeet or Rubio here, too. There’s been talk about Hill, but Hill has not worked out here.”

The official FreeDarko mock: “Oklahoma City Thunder – Rodrigue Beaubois, France – The Russell Westbrook of Europe meets the Russell Westbrook of … um, America. We (outside of stoicism fetishists like Joey) think of the San Antonio canon as one of boring, solid, workmanlike. But ignore Duncan for a minute. The team that brought us James White! This is what Presti took from the Spurs playbook, beyond the Big Three + flexibility trope: get players who can jump over canyons. I look forward to the first Green-to-Westbrook-to-Beaubois-to-Durant fastbreak in which feet never touch the ground.”

Could Rubio miss training camp for whatever team takes him?: “Spain’s smart money says Ricky Rubio still will be in Europe come preseason 2009-10. His contract mess (being held as collateral for past club debts) is up to a judge to decide. A conciliatory meeting takes place June 23 before the adjudicator grants a court hearing sometime in the future, who knows when.”

Dime’s newest mock: “Oklahoma City – James Harden, SG, Arizona State – If they can’t land Griffin, Harden is a more than acceptable second option. Fitting into the two-spot alongside Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, Western Conference GMs are certainly going to be worried for years to come.”

FanHouse debates Hasheem Thabeet’s bust potential: “I can’t get over how this guy is above Jordan Hill, or DeJuan Blair, guys who can do more than stick their hands way up in the air. Premier big men in this league, the kind you want to spend a top 3 pick on, all have some level of touch around the basket, save Dwight Howard. And Thabeet is no Dwight Howard. Of course, when he was drafted, Dwight Howard wasn’t Dwight Howard.”

And they do the same with Ricky Rubio: “To be honest, of all point guards rumored for the lottery, Rubio has the biggest, most public oeuvre. The ACB, early-round Euroleague competition, youth international competition, and of course the Olympics — I dare say Rubio has been on TV as much as the “proven” Evans over the last three years. And it’s interesting to me that (Brandon Jennings aside) players, coaches and scouts never have anything bad to say about Rubio’s game — it’s all remarkably glowing. But we as fans pick apart the things we see as faults — the things you nudged at, like his athleticism. Here we have a player we know can play basketball very, very well, yet he doesn’t fit the mold of our prospects — he can’t jump a llama or beat an unladen swallow in a sprint — so we doubt him. If we ever want to change the system to where players are selected instead of prospects, it seems to me Rubio would be a fine starting point.”

Dime sees Sam Young as the next Josh Howard: “You know how Sam Young story is going to go. Sometime around January 2013, when Young is starting for a contender and his name is beginning to surface in All-Star talk, the mainstream will catch on: Who is Sam Young? How did everybody miss this guy? People’s Exhibit 397 that the Draft is an inexact science: Sam Young. If that sounds a lot like Josh Howard’s story, that’s because it is.”

Pro Basketball News’ mock: “Oklahoma City – James Harden, G, Arizona State: The Thunder has a few solid young wings and drafted Russell Westbrook last year to run the point, so going Harden over Rubio seems like a declaration that they want to keep the keys in Westbrook’s hands. Rubio is a pretty intriguing prospect with great defensive instincts, so it wouldn’t be shocking if he’s their choice, but Harden seems to be the more natural fit.”

Two really good Draft Express articles evaluating shooting guards and point guards: “A recurring theme in this article, we find Jermaine Taylor at the top of our rankings at 32.2 points per-40. Not only is he almost 6 full points ahead of Jodie Meeks, but he even ranks slightly ahead of Stephen Curry, the top scorer in our first analysis. As you can see here, and will continue to see throughout this article, Taylor carried a bigger load than anyone in the NCAA. Jodie Meeks checks in next on our list, while James Harden sits in fourth. Both players were clearly utilized heavily by the teams due to their excellent perimeter scoring abilities. The third and fifth spots are owned by Marcus Thornton and Jack McClinton, who used their opportunities to handle the ball to create their own shots in addition to spending time off the ball.”

@JoeI think we all can agree that a quality 7 footer is a big deal for teams. If one is possible, you have to put every effort into figuring out exactly how good they are. Presti spending so much time scouting Thabeet is a good thing. If he picks Thabeet, it's because he had extensive knowledge saying Thabeet will make it.

Still, I don't think he's the pick. Presti had to spend that time because you simply can't overlook someone that big. However, he should have seen time and again that Thabeet isn't the guy he is billed to be. Presti should know better than anyone not to pick the kid.

@KevI agree Kev. If Presti takes Thabeet, I almost think he'll have a ton of reason to, to the point where I'll get behind it. Because I see nothing from Thabeet that gets me excited. He has zero feel for the game. Sure he can block shots, but how valuable is that really?

As near as I can tell, Presti hasn't worked out Tyreke Evans. From the stuff listed on the internet, he's seen Evans at a group workout, but not alone personally, like he has with DeRozan and Harden. I can't find any record of the Thunder working out Thabeet or Curry privately, but Thabeet still worries me. They did apparently see Curry a lot during the season.

Since it's a slow news day, I think I will give nicknames to all of the Thunder players, but these nicknames are like those given to the ancient kings of olde.

Kevin the StudlyRuss the Wade-esqueThabo the StiflingNenad the BaldingJeff the DevelopingKyle the Good-lookingShaun the Blessed-to-be-WalkingDesmond the BelovedNick the TweeterD.J. the UnluckyRobert the BrittleMalik the AncientEarl the DisgruntledDamien the Trigger-happyChucky the Useless

@KevI really agree with you here. I think Jordan Hill's stock has come up, but I don't think he's on Presti's radar. I don't think there's any way we take Thabeet honestly. The only other option is if Presti falls in love with Tyreke Evans or DeMar DeRozan, which I don't think he will.

I really think either Rubio, Harden or Curry will have their name called with the third pick.

@BrettIf Rubio is as good as I think he can be, OKC isn't going to have a problem paying him at the end of his rookie contract (Bird Rule). And remember, his biggest market isn't in America anyway, so whether he's in OKC or Sacramento doesn't mean much to his marketability. Fegan may be his agent, but Rubio will be the guy in charge by the time a new contract need be signed.

I say we get Harden. The more I read and watch, the more I think he'll be a good fit on our team. I like Weaver, but until he gets more offensive abilities we're operating a cylinder lower than we should be on that end. Weaver would be good working with the 2nd team, especially with Livingston and White on the floor with him.

I'm just not sold on Rubio and definitely not on Thabeet. I don't imagine Rubio would stick around anyway, even if he was successful here. An agent like his is only looking for money and exposure, not exactly available in OKC once we resign Durant and at least Westbrook.

It seems to me the missing piece is Livingston. He started to play a little better towards the end of the year and with a full summer to stay healthy I think he could be a very viable PG for us if we needed to bump Westbrook down to the SG.

@Jax Raging Bile DuctAnd the FD clan goes over my head more than half the time, but I enjoy the heck out of them. I wish I could write like that. But I am no where close to that smart. The first thing I thought of when I saw Escher was Craig Esherik.

"25. Oklahoma City Thunder (from San Antonio) - Jeff Teague, Wake ForestLike most players on OKC, Teague has no clear position. It's tempting to say they need someone who can bring clarity to the lineup, but that could introduce an entirely new set of problems, like a glaucoma patient who smokes medicinal pot only to end up suffering from really bad paranoia. Better to stick with someone who isn't even sure if he's playing point or shooting guard from possession to possession and confuse the opponent even more. This isn't versatility--it's the new Escher. (TK)"

I realize FreeDarko has some Dennis Miller in them, with obscure references underscoring or even defining their point, and usually I have to google them just to make sure I caught on. But I just happen to like Escher (artist who composed confusing/impossible constructions) and grinned out loud at the reference.

Kudos Darko. As if your writing style weren't unique enough, you chose to pair it with the most unlikely of all perspectives on an even more unlikely subject.